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Monday, 24 March 2014

Reportage: Liz Davies, Queen of the desert

A 24-year-old Halifax woman made a 155 mile trek across the Sahara desert to raise money for Overgate Hospice.

Liz Davies, assistant manager at Pure Gym, Halifax, made the trek over six days with her training partner Amjid Khan.

So far Liz raised over £2,000 for the hospice and hopes that the donations will keep pouring in.

Liz said: “They wanted us to have the traditional Bedouin experience - we had these traditional tents which were made out of goat hair and had loads of holes in them.

“On the first night, it absolutely belted it down raining - it was freezing.

“So we started our first day absolutely shattered.”

It wasn’t just the elements she had to overcome - wild animals were a real risk.

“I was on my own one night until about three in the morning - it was just me and a head torch trekking away,” said Liz.

“I had a few run-ins with wild dogs - that was scary.

“You have this moment when you’re by yourself and these dogs are coming up to you that you think you’re not going to make it through.”

As well as the sense of achievement gained by completing the challenge, the isolation of the experience has given Liz a new sense of perspective on life.

“The lifestyle was so different,” she said. “There was no internet, no phone, no contact with the outside world - all we had to focus on was getting food and water, finding shade and getting to our next location.